


a hymn of fever dreams

by abscission



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Gen, Natsume Week 2018, minimal animal violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 20:24:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15178640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abscission/pseuds/abscission
Summary: Appease the gods with blood.Natsume is the human sacrifice.





	a hymn of fever dreams

**Author's Note:**

> unedited.

_Fire, fire, dragon fire, searing words of ancient ire._

_Wake, wake, from the grave, rise to set the world aflame._

_-_

The sky is an endless, perfect blue.

When Natsume looks up, he almost expects it to reflect the ashen world like the surface of a lake.

Once, such clear skies would've been seen as a blessing from the gods — sunlight and illumination, to nourish crops and their lives.

But then, the hunter passed through their village.

Least, that's what Natsume saw. A man wrapped in dusty red robes, a gleaming black scabbard on his hip, and behind him, like trails of smoke, three wisps of vague grey shapes. When he asked about the man's strange clothing, cautious of the meaning of his presence, Touko-san stared at him with a sort of resigned horror.

"Takashi-san, the traveller is wearing beige," she said, a hand on her cheek, "and there is no painted eye on the back of his robes." She placed a gentle guiding hand on Natsume's shoulder. "Would you like to help me tend to the stove fire, inside the house?"

The hunter roomed with them for the night.

Shigeru-san wasn't back from the capital, so Natsume was the one who attended to their guest.

Sandy-haired and silent, the hunter simply sets his things aside, eyes always on the world beyond the window.

That night, thunder shook the earth and lightning forked the skies, a storm like the village's never seen before. And above the sounds of nature's fury, a voice, firm but quiet, uttering words that makes Natsume's bones sting and sing.

_Voth aan joor-zah-frul rein_

_Fin norok ved viing bonaar_

_Vokul fen ma_

 

He was pulled back into an uneasy sleep. In his dreams, raven wings shed jet black feathers, and a shadow spreads, tearing and jagged, across the sky, covering the sun and eating the moon.

There were no stars.

In the morning, there was no sun. The storm raged on.

_-_

_Night, night, endless night, terror is the only light._

_Bane, bane, rage untamed, darkness dwells in age-old blade._

_-_

The hunter politely ignored the meals Natsume set on the bed-stand. He simply sat on the bed in the lotus position, unsheathed blade by his side, eyes closed.

His robes, darker red now that Natsume was close, fluttered imperceptibly.

"He told me he was a pilgrim," Touko told him, eyeing the window worriedly. "He will pass through this place in another day, but how is he going to set off in this weather?"

The anxious clatter of pots and pans were slightly louder than the rain against the glass panes.

"Oh, how will Shigeru get home in this rain..." Touko busied herself with the housework.

The sunlight didn't manage to pierce through the cloud cover that day, and Natsume passed it pealing beans with Touko in the kitchen, trying not to see the wisps of grey presence flitting through the house.

That night, the same thing.

_-_

_Nahkriin mahfaeraak nahlot_

_Sul, sul fent alok!_

_-_

This time, his dreams were more vivid, more real.

A gust of bitter, icy wind and a ram-horned woman dove into the dark sky, the trail of grey she left behind washed away by the lashing rain. A bolt of lightning split the sky in two, lighting up an empty world, and a woman, long dark hair snapping like silk, wrestled with an invisible force.

A scream — could've been the wind, could've been the world — and a trail of grey, sputtering, plummets from the roiling clouds white-tipped with the flash of cold steel and a mask.

Lightning flashes — the outline of a beast in the sky, and the beat of shuddering, phantasmal, world-ending wings.

Down below, on the yellow, barren earth, the hunter stands, hands clasped in front of him, and the same mind-shattering voice echoes impossibly around the vast space.

_Qahnaar fin mey wo nis koraav_

_Vokunne qiilaan wah fin krein_

_Fin norok ved viing bonaar_

_Vokul fen ma!_

 

Natsume's eyes flew open to smoke and ruins.

-

The crops were destroyed. The village stores and an entire street had burned.

Though it's still early enough in the year, and there's enough time to plant a new batch, the whole village would have to tighten their belts this year.

The hunter had disappeared through the night, leaving nothing behind.

And— no rain, for moons and moons.

_-_

"Placate the gods," the townsfolk said, dusty and haggard, gathered in Touko's courtyard. "He can see. He was chosen."

What could she do?

Natsume placed a hand on her shaking shoulders and smiled at her. Wiped at the tears that came pouring forth.

He turned to the priest. "Do I go by fire or water?"

-

He is to go by the elements.

A little water, the least they could spare, doused overhead.

A little fire, small pieces of coal that burned themselves out at his feet.

A little earth, made into colors, marked on his skin.

A little wind, for he is to be set outside the village for three days and three nights, tethered to the mortal realm by the rope at his wrists and the rod at his back.

A little metal — the priest is walking up to him now, ceremonial dagger intricately wrought from iron and bronze.

An assistant brings up a calico, a sleek creature with mottled fur; it chitters curiously at Natsume, otherwise curled contentedly in the arms of its handler. The priest passes his white-gloved hand over its body, then slits it clean open, muzzle to tail.

Natsume jerks in his bonds.

The assistant carefully places the spilled cat on the ground next to his feet, then retreats, head bowed.

"O Great Dragon of the World, these are our atonements to you." The priest passes the white-gloved hand over Natsume's eyes. "We plead for absolution. We plead for a blessing. We implore to Your Benevolence."

Natsume picks out Touko easily in the crowd that had gathered.

He smiles.

The cold blade passes over his neck, and the world is painted red, before vision fades.

_-_

Natsume wakes with the startling certainly of his death imprinted in the back of his mind like the glint of a blade in the sun.

There's a huff, and a gust of warm wind ruffles his hair.

"Impatient as always. What a waste."

He looks up. And up, and up, taking in the astonishing scale of the white beast that paced the air beside him.

It turns its massive head to the side to stare at Natsume with one glowing yellow eye, then lowers its hunches.

"Hop on, boy. Take the cat with you. As an apology, you'll be living in the Eastern Mansion from now on."

Natsume opens his mouth to ask, _What cat?_ when he feels fur brushing his legs, and he looks down to find himself floating in the sky, and the calico weaving itself between his legs. He picks it up, and it nuzzles into his neck, to which Natsume is relieved to find still intact.

"What about the rain?" He asks.

"Already on the horizon. The world had to clear for that large exorcism and if the villagers just _waited_ —" The beast closes its eyes, deep voice distinctly irritated. It flicks its voluminous tail.

Natsume glances in that direction, and sure enough, from his height, he can see the beginnings of a grey stain on the horizon.

Rain clouds, moving in from the sea.

"Though you did expedite the process," the beast says, waiting patiently as Natsume clambered onto its back. Its fur is warm and soft. "I'm Madara. I'll be your servant from now to eternity. Hold on tight."

As soon as Natsume is settled, the beast pushes off, power rippling through his muscles, enough that Natsume felt from his position on Madara's neck.

They fly east, into the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over two consecutive nights at 4 in the morning, and in both instances I fell asleep writing this. so. consider this the fever dream of a fever dream.
> 
> written for prompt 4, rain/sunshine, from natsume week 2018. i chose rain.
> 
> [here's]() the song the lyrics are from, and [here's]() the version I listened to on repeat for this fic. yes it's elder scrolls. i've always played fast and loose with source material, it's a point of pride.
> 
> here's my [tumblr](http://billowingwaves.tumblr.com/). pop in for a chat anytime.


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